Bio:

My name is Leslie Pinto, I’m an artist from Cali, Colombia, a loving and caring woman called Paulette Ghitis adopted me, she is my mom. Thankfully she has always encourage me to follow my love for art, since I can remember I have always been painting, my birthdays presents were usually crayons, colors, and paints, anything related with art.

In high school I was the girl who makes all the school signs and decorations for the festivities, the good thing also was that I could skip class! My thesis for graduating from high-school was also very related with art and with women's interpretations, well I picked 5 art pieces from different artist like Leonardo Davinci and had to reinterpret the characters with women bodies, maintaining the expression and concept of the masterpiece. Well it came out really cool; at that moment I didn't paint women's faces, just their bodies, which I find very interesting.

With time i keep exploring to find my own style, and went to college to study graphic design, I think i was very constructive also for my artwork, well you learn a lot about colors composition which i think its very important for an artist, also I learn the difference between art and graphic design, well art is very personal, graphic design is communicating ideas, and not all the time yours but your clients ideas, that’s why I’m kind of picky with my design related jobs, well I wouldn't like working and communicating an idea I’m not in accordance with, while art is more like materializing your thoughts and emotions through a canvas in my case, well I think it's so personal, I can't paint thinking on how will I sell it, or to what target am I showing it to, I can just think in my canvas, in my idea, in my emotions and how am I going to take it all out and getting to a point where I see it and I feel such satisfaction I think it's finished. Wow I really love painting!.
But another great think I discover in college is illustration, in specific children’s illustration, the last semester of college I came to live to the US to Fort Lauderdale to do my internship and work on my college thesis which was based on children's illustration. I read a lot about child’s development and Jean Piaget’s theory, and this made me more interested in this market!.

After I graduated I came to live to Miami Beach and started selling my art work in a little table in Lincoln Road, which it was really good in the high season, but in summer it was really hot and there were almost no people, so I had to find another job that would give me a more stable income and I started as a freelance illustrator for Office Depot, but the project ended shortly and I had to look for a job as a sales associate in Crocs and in Zara, after a year I decided to look for a job in graphic design again and started working in Telemundo for a while, when I realize that I was just working to pay my bills and my dreams and art where disappearing, so I left my job and started as a freelancer, doing some design projects here and there also I just opened an etsy store where I put for sale my artwork and a society6 page to sell some of my women’s illustrations and well I joined this society hopefully to get more involved with the children’s market and hopefully be able to live my dream of actually working in this market. One of my most admired writer & illustrator is Doctor Seuss, when I read his story, went thru his work and have seem everything he has accomplished event after he died it amazed me where you can get being involved in this market.

Also I think it’s very important to work for this target “children” well as we all say they are the future and if there is a way for humanity to be better, more loving and planet caring in the future is thru them!

Thanks a lot for reading my story I hope you enjoy my work!

Leslie Pinto


Illustrator
Associate
Member since 2012
Region: Florida

Contact Information

Email:  lisy15@hotmail.com
Current Location:   Miami Beach
Website:  http://www.lesliepinto.com

Published In Children's Market: No